With the recent speculation over Amazon trying to start its own music download service and branded music player, it isn't surprising to hear that plans for movie and TV downloads are also being discussed. Advanced talks are underway with movie and TV studios including Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros., according to Reuters sources. The end result may be a service that offers Amazon customers access to movies and episodes of TV shows for a fee, with downloads transferable to DVD discs for viewing on a range of hardware.

It is thought that Amazon plans to utilize its ownership of the Internet Movie Database website (IMDB.com) to help sell downloadable content. IMDB had over 15 million unique visitors last month, and, if the download deal is successful, options to download films could start appearing on the site.

MATTHEW'S OPINION
This is a clear and logical step for Amazon to continue expanding its market. The future is going to turn more to downloadable content as the speed and penetration of broadband continue to increase.

By setting up the service early Amazon will yet again have a stranglehold on the market, and the ability to closely tie in the service with its existing sites. Owning IMDB will help, but Amazon's main site will also tie-in to any download service, just like the movie rental service did.

The other important aspect of this new venture for Amazon is how many of its competitors might be able to offer a similar service. Offering movie downloads requires a massive investment in your infrastructure, and that's something Amazon already has due to the popularity of its site. Smaller companies offering similar goods may not be able to make the same leap to downloadable content without outsourcing, and many may get left behind.

USER COMMENTS 3 comment(s)

This will not work(9:20am EST Mon Mar 13 2006)

Costs way too much, quality is way too low, and the DRM is way too restrictive.